‘Downton Abbey’ Renewal: Season 6 On The Way

Downton Abbey Season 6 is a go, and Julian Fellowes will remain at the helm of the show. While fans will have to wait a bit for confirmation regarding returning cast members, so far it doesn’t seem that any major departures are in the works. The show will remain on its current airing schedule as well, it seems.

The Season 5 finale of Downton Abbey airs in the United Kingdom on Sunday, November 9. As is the norm, there will be a Christmas special airing in the U.K. on December 25. As for the Season 5 schedule for those in the United States, new episodes begin airing on Sunday, January 4, 2015. As frustrated as U.S. fans can get at times with this split airing schedule between the two networks, it does appear that it is sticking around.

News of the Downton Abbey renewal via ITV doesn’t come as a major surprise, though fans are relieved to know it’s a done deal. Production will begin in early 2015, and surely some Season 6 spoilers will emerge as filming begins. Ratings for the show both on ITV in the U.K. and on PBS in the U.S. have remained quite strong throughout each season, as the networks note, so it surely wasn’t a difficult decision to keep the show going.

How much longer will Downton Abbey go on? Some of the stars have indicated that they don’t think the show can go on for too long beyond the next season or so, but chances are that those behind the show will continue it for as long as they can continue to deliver what the fans want with the storylines and beloved cast.

Over the past couple of seasons, there were difficult departures and deaths, though Season 5 has been somewhat tamer in that regard. Where will the Crawleys head in the new season? What will happen among those downstairs at Downton? Everybody will have to stay tuned to learn more about what Fellowes has in store for viewers.

Season 5 has brought mourning and new romance for Lady Mary Crawley, while Tom Branson has tinkered with new love as well. Anna and Bates have worked to move forward after their struggles, and the other characters both upstairs and downstairs have had their fair share of adventures this season. While fans will have to wait for quite some time to find out where everybody heads in Season 6, viewers are glad to know that a new season of Downton Abbey is ahead.

[Image via New York Post]